Search in:

McAfee: man captured was 'body double'

Mark Hughes

NEW YORK: The millionaire software tycoon John McAfee claims that he has escaped from Belize by using an elaborate plan involving a body double.

In the latest twist in an increasingly bizarre tale, Mr McAfee, who made his fortune designing the anti-virus computer software that bears his name, claims he is "safe" but "not quite out of the woods yet". He made the comments on his official blog, a day after the same website said he had been captured.

Mr McAfee, 67, has been on the run since his neighbour, the American businessman Gregory Viant Faull, was shot dead last month.

Police in Belize, where the murder took place, say Mr McAfee is not a suspect, but he believes he will be "summarily executed" if he hands himself in.

Advertisement

Over the weekend two posts appeared on his official blog claiming that he had been "captured" close to the border of Belize and Mexico. But officials in Belize denied this.

On Monday a new post admitted the previous update was "misdirection" and said Mr McAfee was "safe" and in the company of two journalists from Vice, the arts and culture magazine.

He writes: "We are not in Belize, but not quite out of the woods yet."

Mr McAfee then appears to claim that the capture on the border of Belize and Mexico was of a "double". He adds: "My 'double', carrying a North Korean passport under my name, was in fact detained in Mexico for pre-planned misbehaviour, but due to indifference on the part of authorities was evicted from the jail and was unable to serve his intended purpose in our exit plan. He is now safely out of Mexico."

During his time on the run Mr McAfee says he has been accompanied by a 20-year-old woman called Samantha, whom he describes as his "eyes and ears in the outside world".

He said she was the reason he decided to escape from Belize. "I left Belize because of a series of events which led both Sam and I to believe that she was in danger of capture," he explained.

Mr Faull was discovered dead on November 11 after being shot in the head. Mr McAfee and Mr Faull are known to have had disputes over Mr McAfee's dogs. Mr Faull was killed after four of Mr McAfee's 11 dogs were found dead.

However, Mr McAfee says he does not believe Mr Faull killed the animals and believes that the American may have been the unintended victim of an assassination planned for him.

Mr McAfee denies any involvement in the murder, but says he will never hand himself in to the authorities, citing widespread corruption and fears that he will be executed if he does.

A spokesman for Vice confirmed that two of its reporters were with Mr McAfee, but would not reveal their location.